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// RUN — FITS
Can the Apple M3 Max 36GB run Pythia-410m?
Yes — here's how fast and up to what context, with real measured numbers.
Pythia-410m on the Apple M3 Max 36GB
| Quant | Fits? | Max context | Speed | Beyond context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP16 | yes | 459k | 248.8-300 t/s | ~8.3-10 (slow) |
| Q8 | yes | 465k | 497.6-600 t/s | ~16.6-20 (slow) |
| Q4 | yes | 468k | 888.5-1071.4 t/s | ~29.6-35.7 (slow) |
Estimate (memory-bound). Beyond "max context" the KV cache spills to SSD swap and speed drops to the "beyond" figure.
FAQ
Can the Apple M3 Max 36GB run Pythia-410m?▶
Yes. At Q4 it generates ~888.5-1071.4 tok/s and fits up to 468k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~29.6-35.7 tok/s.
How much context fits?▶
At Q4, up to about 468k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.